By Charles Brun: Anthony Joshua confirmed today that he’s fighting Deontay Wilder in December in Saudi Arabia. Boxing fans are amped up at seeing former champions Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) and Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) meeting in a long overdue match-up.
People have talked about wanting to see Joshua & Wilder battle it out since 2015, and it’s unbelievable that it’s taken this long to finally make this contest happen.
AJ confirms Wilder is next
“That’s what’s happening. It’s public news; we’re throwing it down in December,” said Anthony Joshua to KayPhysical about his fighting Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia in December.
Joshua needs that killer mentality that he had earlier in his career for him to have a chance of defeating Wilder. In AJ’s last fight against Jermaine Franklin, he looked afraid to throw anything and cowered when the American would throw anything back.
Wilder looked as dangerous as ever in his last fight, knocking out Robert Helenius in the first round last October in Brooklyn, New York. The 6’7″ Deontay sparked Helenius out with a single right hand to get the knockout.
Most fans predict Wilder will destroy Joshua, knocking him into the next galaxy, Andromeda, after connecting with one of his crushing right hands.
Joshua has got to fight fire with fire by attacking Wilder from the opening bell because he won’t survive for long if he attempts to box. Wilder hits too hard, and he’ll nail AJ with something big at some point if he has to contend with is his jab.
It would have been better if the Joshua-Wilder fight had occurred years ago when they held world titles. With the battle now, it’s not nearly as interesting because AJ is one loss away from retirement afteer losing 2 out of his last 3, and Wilder is in the same boat.
Will Joshua retire if he loses to Wilder?
Seeing how Joshua reacts to a knockout loss to Deontay will be interesting. To be sure, Joshua took his knockout defeat against Andy Ruiz pretty hard. It’s not inconceivable to imagine Joshua abruptly retiring after the loss to Deontay.
Of course, AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn will try and coach him out of it, reminding him how many boxing fans want to see him continue his career, but he might choose to walk away. According to Forbes, Joshua’s net worth is $150 million. With that loot, one could understand why Joshua may retire if Wilder knocks out in December.
Joshua vs. Wilder is part of a big card that could include WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury battling IBF, WBA & WBO champ Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed championship.
